When an ENE works best

A Project Neutral® Early Neutral Evaluation can be most impactful when:

• The owner does not do many projects like this one

• The contractors and subcontractors have not worked together before

• The parties are not co-located with the project

• The owner cannot afford to become enmeshed in litigation

• The project is complex and runs multiple years

• On-time completion is critical to everyone

• The project uses new or substantially modified technology

• The project relies heavily on software development and integration

Most parties arrive somewhere on a known curve: early friction, change orders accumulating, schedule slipping, payment tightening, a default notice being drafted. Hard projects among relative strangers, with unforgiving stakes, generate disputes at a predictable rate and are the conditions under which the traditional alternatives fail worst.

Below roughly $10 million of project value, the process rarely pays for itself, and we will usually say so on the initial call. For small projects, disciplined meet-and-confer and a good mediation clause are the honest recommendation.

We will generally decline the assignment if the dispute is already deep in litigation posture, with no settlement appetite on either side, or:

• The parties cannot or will not provide access to the documents

• The amount in dispute cannot support a fixed-fee engagement

• A conflict of interest cannot be cleared

• The project's posture makes 21 days infeasible

Where we can, we will provide a referral to the path that fits: counsel-led resolution, a conventional mediation clause, or a different neutral.